Eve of Destruction
by Zoicite23
Summary: An alternate universe where the Crushers are aspiring duelists who are devoted to the card game 'Yu-Gi-Oh'. A new tournament begins and it seems innocent enough, but dark forces behind it intend to use the game for evil. In order to figure out what is going on, Zac and his friends must continue to win their battles to remain in the championship before their world becomes at risk.
1. The Exciting New Tournament!

**New story. A completely different genre to my other story, but don't worry it still has priority at the moment. For those who aren't familiar with my "Crusher" characters don't worry I'll describe them soon enough.**

Zac walked out of the General Games Store, his new treasure cradled by his searching hands. The bell tinkled as the door swung shut behind him. Zac turned left and headed down the walkway for about twenty feet, then sat himself down at an empty bus stop bench.

He turned over the shiny pack of cards in his hands, examining the back and the front. 'Eve of Destruction' was printed on the front in gold letters at the bottom, just above 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' and trademark. Above the title was the picture of a large brilliant white metallic dragon with shimmering sapphire wings.

Zac loved Yu-Gi-Oh! cards and he loved the holographic duel disks and he loved basically everything about the game. He didn't even mind loosing that much as long as it was a good game. Unable to contain his excitement any longer, he tore open the packet.

His booster pack contained four spells, two effect monsters and, as Zac was happy to see, a trap card. He found two of the spell cards very useful and decided he'd add them into his deck with his trap card when he got home. None of the normal monster cards really fit in with his theme of deck.

He did like one of the effect monster cards. It was weak, just the kind of card people would underestimate. However, Chris had taught Zac how to play Yu-Gi-Oh! better then that. He knew that the little cards could be just as important as the bigger ones when creating a deck.

'Eve of Destruction' was the newest set of cards released to celebrate the beginning of the new Yu-Gi-Oh! card tournament. When Zac was younger he used to watch the Card Tournaments on TV and dreamed of being able to be in one. His two best friends: Samual and Ammonia, also loved the game.

All three of them played, but as of yet none of them had ever been in a tournament before. Chris had fallen in love with the game a few thousand years ago, and had watched it develop over the millenniums into what it was today. Chris had taught Zac personally which had made him strong.

Samual had a better feel for the game though, and was good at strategy and attack. Ammonia's parents were wealthy enough to get her strong cards, but also her skills at arithmetic made her a good duelist. Plus with all of their training Zac was sure they'd do great in the competition.

Unfortunately, Samual's family hadn't the money for him to enter, Ammonia's parents would probably not want their daughter to spend time on a card game tournament instead of her studies, and Chris was...superstitious. He had told Zac how Yu-Gi-Oh! had once been a game of terrible evil where people could wager their souls and get sent to a realm of darkness for eternity. These were called 'Shadow Games'.

Chris knew that Shadow Games had died out a millennium ago, but still feared that a large competition could attract those who had the powerful items and could cast a Shadow Game. Zac walked home.

"Hello," Chris loomed around the corner, much like a shadow, as soon as Zac had walked through the door.

"Hey Chris." Zac greeted. "I got some new cards."

"Good." Chris said in a way that made Zac suspicious.

"What is it?"

"I just need you to sign a form." Chris said and held out a paper slip. Zac warily took the paper and read it to make sure he wasn't going to be agreeing to another appointment at the dentist. Then his eyes almost popped out of his skull.

"This is- this is...".

"Yes," Chris said nodding. "An entry form for the new Eve of Destruction Yu-Gi-Oh! card tournament!" Zac gaped. Chris had been absolutely adamant on not letting Zac attend. Only a few months ago had Zac been allowed to even go to a public school where he had met his first friend, Samual.

"I don't understand. I thought you said it would be too risky?"

"I did," Chris admitted. "Until I became head security and top guy in charge of overseeing the new card tournament."

"Wow!" Zac said, but then his face fell. "But my friends, Samual and Ammonia. I don't think I could do it without them."

"Not to worry, Zac. I've called both of your friend's parents and have arranged to pay for them. I have enough money after all, so its not a problem."

"Thank you, Chris. Thank you!" Zac jumped and hugged him. Chris laughed.

"Consider it an early Christmas present. Now you probably need this." Chris handed Zac a rule book. Zac stared at it.

"But I already know the rules." He said confused.

"Every tournament has its own slightly varying rules." Chris explained. "There is also a forbidden, limited and semi-limited cards list which means you're going to have to alter and strategize with your deck so that it fits in with the rules and guidelines."

"Sounds complicated." Zac said. Chris nodded again.

"This is your first tournament. So make sure you read and learn as much as possible."

"Yep!" Zac agreed and grabbed a pen from the other room. He filled out his form, and then went to his room and buried his face in the rulebook.

**The chapters will be much shorter then my other story too. Comments or questions? Please leave a review!**


	2. Will to Win

**These chapters will sure be easy to write since they all have less than 1000 words in each. It will encourage me to write more!**

The next day, Zac, Samual and Ammonia met in the park. Each person had brought their own cards to discuss strategy and play some practice games. Samual had a tin filled with approximately one hundred cards.

Ammonia had one hundred and fifty, and Zac was somewhere in-between them. They played some games with their ready made decks. Zac got smashed by Samual, and had almost beaten Ammonia if it weren't for her 'Celestial Surge' card that had turned the tables of their battle in her favour, just in time.

Samual and Ammonia's battle was also pretty close, but Ammonia ended up winning in the end. After they went through the forbidden list of cards in the rule book and had to re-arrange their decks and change their strategies, Zac got a few wins. Ammonia suffered the most.

Her cards were so good that a lot of them were on the forbidden and limited lists. Meaning she had to cut down and trade in, her deck then became unfamiliar to her and she lost confidence. This caused her to lose a few battles, but she soon picked up and started winning again.

Zac only had to change a few cards in his deck, but they were good cards. Zac needed a good effect monster to replace his 'Magical Detonation Bug' and strong spell cards to replace the ones on the forbidden list. He ended up replacing it with the new weak effect monster he had found in the booster pack the other day, a level one monster called 'Blunder'.

Zac was sent a text to his mobile from Chris telling him to bring Samual and Ammonia with him when he went back.

"It must be more about the tournament." Zac said.

"We should go then." Ammonia replied and Samual nodded.

They walked to Zac's house together, which wasn't too far. When they arrived Zac found he was right. Set up on the dining room table, was three new duel disk systems.

"Wow!" Samual was amazed and ran over to pick one of them up. Zac knew Samual wasn't used to new things.

Sliding it onto his arm he inserted his deck and pressed the button but the disk didn't open. He frowned. "Huh?" Chris walked forward.

"It's probably not working because you just put your deck into your graveyard slot."

"Oh," Samual replied a little embarrassed.

"It will take some getting use to." Chris explained with his finger in the air. "After you've read the rules you will have qualified for the tournament which will begin in less than one week. Even after the tournament you can still keep the disks for any future games you will be playing."

"We can keep them?" Ammonia asked. "Thanks, Chris." Chris just nodded curtly. Samual was silent but then ran up and hugged Chris. He shrieked and tried to pull away. Zac laughed, he knew Chris wasn't good with physical displays of affection to anyone but him.

Samual released him and he looked like he was going to faint.

"You kids...have fun. I'm...going to have a...bath." He limped away towards the bathroom and his decontamination equipment.

"Wow, Chris really doesn't like it when people touch him." Ammonia noted.

"Especially children." Zac added.

Samual turned around to face his two friends and looked full of energy. "We have a week until the competition starts! I say we head into town and look around to verse someone in a practice match!"

"There will be tonnes of kids in town where the card shops are." Ammonia agreed. "We're bound to find some other kids there with duel disk systems."

Zac smiled.

"Sure." He wasn't sure though. His friends Ammonia and Samual were amazing duellists. Zac didn't know anyone else who went to their school that could compare to them. He on the other hand...

"Let's go!" Samual yelled and hurried to the door. Ammonia followed him and then Zac called back.

"Right!" Then hurried along after them. They walked together until they reached town, their new duel disk systems secured to their arms with their decks inside.

Zac didn't know much about the high-tech devices that they carried with them. He also had no idea how they worked. All he knew was that they wirelessly synced in with the closest opened duel disk and created holographic images based on a tiny information chip inside of each card.

Zac had of course seen other people play duels with a duel disk, but he had never played with a projector before. The three walked into the middle of a large concrete square walkway that was in between many different card, game and toy shops.

"Okay," Samual began, "I say we each go our separate way from here. We'll duel and then meet back here after we all win. Agreed?"

"Agreed." Ammonia said. "I can't wait to test my deck against some other contenders." Ammonia had that look in her eye again she got when she was looking forward to an opponent's vicious defeat. Samual was just as eager, however, and didn't notice.

"Wait? We're splitting up?" Zac asked frightened.

"Don't be so scared, Zac." Samual said.

"I'm sure you'll do fine." Ammonia added. Zac looked down at his toes.

"You can't know that." He mumbled.

Samual sighed.

"You're stronger than you know, Zac." He said kindly. Ammonia nodded.

"If you can't verse someone now, how will you possibly duel in a tournament?"

Zac looked up.

"You're right. Thanks guys."

"Well meet back here," Samual repeated, "then you can tell us all about the duellist you smashed." He winked and left. Ammonia smiled and left also.

Zac watched as his two best friends walked off in different directions. He turned around, filled with new confidence, and started down his own path. Not knowing where or who it would lead to.

**I have a general idea of where and who it will lead to. Is that a review in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?**


	3. A Strange Opponent

**A duel's about to start, about time too...it's only like, the third chapter...**

Samual walked on his own and admired the sunny day. Around him there were children laughing and people talking. He spotted a few other duellists with duel disks attached to their arms, but they all seemed to be talking casually.

There wasn't any room for a duel in this crowded area either. Samual walked past a few cafés and then he heard a loud noise, almost like an explosion. Cheering could be heard from around the back of a store. Samual went to investigate.

A group of kids were gathered around two boys who stood facing each other. Samual noticed the towering dark masked figure with the large metal scythe in its hand. Then he noticed the duel disks each boy had on their arms.

_That must be a holographic monster card!_ Samual thought, amazed. _It looks so real!_ The tall dark creature stood in front of a boy with straight black hair and a green beanie. He had a sneer plastered onto his face and the other boy was on the ground cowering from the looming monster.

"Hahaha! Doesn't this pain just add more to the game! Soon your rare card will be mine, you'll regret the day you challenged me to a duel!" The boy's eyes were wide with anticipation. The poor obese boy on the ground looked like he was about to cry.

The bully continued to laugh manically. "I like that look! It makes crushing you all the more worth it!" The boy on the ground looked around him, as if he wanted someone to come to his aid. When no one did he looked back up at his opponent, his eyes pleading.

"Please don't do this, Kouzan." All he got in return was another remorseless laugh.

"Chaos Reaper! Attack him again! Drain his life points to nothing!" The monster lunged through the air and swung its weapon. The hologram, lacking substance, went straight through him but for some reason the boy screamed and collapsed. "I win."

The boy called Kouzan walked forward toward the whimpering child and removed his deck. Flicking through he picked a card and took it. "This will be my prize." He proclaimed adding the card to his deck.

"You went too far this time, Ko." Another boy called running up to the crying boy. Kouzan dropped the rest of his cards onto the street.

"His mistake for challenging me. If he can't duel under pressure he doesn't belong in this tournament. The Akutenshi were created for this purpose, to weed out the weaklings."

"Do you enjoy picking on other people?" Someone called from the crowd.

"Who said that?" Kouzan yelled.

The crowd looked around and then parted revealing a boy with bright orange hair wearing a blue shirt and black trousers. Samual strode forward to the angry teen.

"Then try me." He said indicating to himself with his thumb. Kouzan stared, then he smiled, and then he started laughing.

The noise was disturbing. Kouzan reminded Samual of the bullies at his own school, however they never seemed quite as strange as he did. Something about him was off and that worried Samual, but all he ever showed his opponent was a frown.

After he finished laughing, he looked up and his expression was suddenly serious.

"I love how confident you are, and the determination in your eyes. Crushing you will be so much more worth it." He grinned again and then licked his lips. Samual recoiled a bit but then opened his duel disk and it glowed, preparing itself for the coming duel.

…

Ammonia yawned to herself as she walked. There were plenty of people around back at the square but the further she had travelled she had started to notice that the crowd was thinning. It was also darker around here.

Wondering where she was going to find someone to duel with around here she kept walking. She almost didn't notice him, but she spun around to see someone had been following her. He cringed away at her scowl.

He was smaller than she was, with short brown hair and wearing a blue uniform.

"Sorry." He said nervously and put his hand behind his head awkwardly. "My name's Asaju. I couldn't help noticing the duel disk on your arm."

When he put his arm behind his head his sleeve had pulled down and Ammonia noticed a black wrist band. On it was a picture of a white skull with white wings on either side of it. Ammonia stared and the boy blushed nervously.

"Oh, yes." Ammonia replied. "I'm in the tournament. Do you play?"

"No, not very well. Not enough to be in a tournament." He laughed.

"Do you know where I can find people who have a duel disk like mine?"

"Yes!" He answered quickly. "There's a whole group of them by the library."

"The library?" Ammonia asked sceptically. She had spent most of her time before she knew her best friends Zac and Samual in a library. The blonde girl was a common sight in the school library surrounded by books and with her blue eyes glued to the pages. It was why she had gained such a large amount of knowledge and did well in all her subjects at school, not that her parents really noticed.

She couldn't imagine many other kids her age that would want to hang around in a library. It also seemed a bit far-fetched that people would be allowed to play a game with large holographic monsters and loud noises in such a quiet place where people would read.

"I'll show you." The boy said smiling and started pacing forward.

Ammonia started walking with him. He seemed nice enough, even if he was a bit shy.

"Thank you, my name's Ammonia by the way."

"Huh, that's an interesting name." The two walked together to Ammonia's next duel and opponent.

**Akutenshi is an idea thought up by a friend of mine, I don't think she'll care that I'm using it for a story like this. It means "Angel of Death". What's that behind your ear? A review?**


	4. It's a Trap!

**Be honest, you read the name of this chapter with an Admiral Ackbar's voice.**

"Get him, Ko!"

"Yeah, beat this kid into a pulp!" The crowd was clearly on Kouzan's side, but Samual was pretty sure it was only because he had won his last duel. _Soon_, he thought to himself, _they'll be cheering for me_.

Kouzan drew his hand.

"How about we make this more interesting." He said as he smiled at the cards in his hand. "The Akutenshi's goal is to get rid of the weak duellists, so how about we make it that the winner gets the loser's rarest card?"

"Whatever," Samual yelled confidently. "Not that I've ever heard of the _Akutenshi_ before, nor do I care." Kouzan lifted his right arm and revealed a black wristband with a white skull and wing pattern.

"You'll never forget when I'm finished with you. Now I'll be taking your rarest card."

"This'll just make this duel more interesting." Samual snapped.

The life point counters on both duel disks beeped and reached four thousand points.

"Among other things..." Kouzan whispered, barely loud enough for Samual to hear. Before he could say anything, Kouzan yelled. "I'll go first!" and then he slid a card into his spell and trap zone. "I cast 'Hinotama'. This card will inflict five hundred points of damage to your life points before you even get started!" A vicious smile spread across his face.

"What?" Samual yelled as the holographic image of the spell card appeared and then turned into a ball of fire. _Before I even had a chance to set a trap card to counter it?_ Samual braced himself for the impact but as expected the hologram had no substance.

Suddenly what felt like an electric current went ripping through his body, the pain brought him to his knees. Kouzan laughed madly and a few members of the crowd joined in.

"Doesn't it just make this game so much more exciting? My duel disk is specifically designed to insert this little glitch into any other duel disk it syncs with! Now if I lose life points I get pain, but when I take yours I get to give you pain! The more damage an individual takes the greater the pain! It becomes most severe when a player reaches zero life points!" Samual gritted his teeth but forced himself back onto his feet.

_This was why that other boy was so upset in the last duel_, Samual thought. Kouzan laughed madly. "Now I play 'Battleaxe Fiend' in attack mode, and put one card face down." A green armoured lizard-like creature holding a huge metal axe stuck out its long tongue at Samual.

A holographic blue square appeared in front of the monster and informed Samual that it had sixteen hundred attack points. Samual drew a card from his deck.

"I summon 'Gladiator Warrior' in attack mode." Samual's monster was one hundred points stronger than Kouzan's but he wasn't finished yet. "I use the spell card 'Great-sword' to increase his attack by four hundred points." Kouzan smiled.

"Using a spell to increase a monster's power? Amateur move."

"Attack!" Samual's warrior now possessing a monstrous sword sliced through Kouzan's monster.

Kouzan grimaced at the pain as his life point counter reduced to three thousand and five hundred. "How do you like it, Ko?" Samual mocked.

"It's fine." His opponent smiled beastly. "Now watch as I destroy you." He drew another card and smiled. "I'll do it with this. My favourite card." Samual frowned.

…

The library Ammonia was led to looked quite abandoned. There was no noise inside of duellists, it was very quiet, but Asaju seemed to be confident in where he was going as he led her. They walked through the doors and Ammonia noticed it was quite dark inside.

Asaju didn't say anything as they walked through the rows of full bookshelves; Ammonia's suspicion was mounting. Eventually there was a clearing large enough for a duel, on a table ahead was a duel disk and Yu-Gi-Oh! deck.

Ammonia stopped and watched as Asaju walked toward the table and slipped on the duel disk and, in one quick motion, inserted his deck. He turned around to face Ammonia and his expression was blank. It was so completely different that Ammonia almost gasped in shock.

She refused to let rash emotions create an indignant reaction from herself, and forced herself to recover in time.

"You _are_ a part of the tournament then." Ammonia said, it wasn't a question. This was a trap.

Ammonia was not one who was fooled often, but Asaju's performance had been perfect. He had seemed so open, it was difficult to believe that the boy she had just seen was only an act. When she stared at the boy in front of her she could gauge nothing of his true character, he was like a void.

He raised his duel disk and pressed a small red button on it that wasn't on Ammonia's machine.

"This has remote locked the entire building." He said blankly. "The only way anyone can leave is either by this duel disk reaching zero life points or a duel disk this one syncs with. There is no other way out, and even if there was I wouldn't tell you if you tortured me."

For some reason, Ammonia believed his last statement. She frowned but didn't speak. The small boy continued, "Most of them were all visibly terrified by this stage, but you hide your emotions very well. I'm extraordinary with reading people. You're like myself, to some degree."

He spoke the entire time without any change to his face or voice. "You see, whereas you have control over displaying your emotions visibly, I can see subtle hints of fear leaking through that strong front of yours. I on the other hand, simply feel nothing."

Ammonia raised her duel disk and it activated.

"If I don't have a choice we might as well start." She said coldly.

"Winner gets the other's rarest card." He continued. "That's how duels work in the Akutenshi." Ammonia frowned but then nodded. Asaju's smile was fake and only made him appear more frightening. "Ladies' first."

**I like my antagonists. To see what happens, review so I can keep going.**


	5. The Frighteningly Talented Akutenshi

**I enjoy Yu-Gi-Oh!. I'm considering making a Fan-Fiction with the actual characters from the anime as well.**

Both player's duel disks started on four thousand life points.

"I summon 'Witch of Black Magic' in attack position and set two cards face down! That ends my turn." Ammonia yelled and her favourite monster appeared in front of her: a youthful pink haired witch in black with a witch's hat. It stood in front of the two holographic face-down cards.

The entire time Asaju's stare had never left her face. He then drew a card and looked at his hand. Ammonia's monster had only fifteen hundred attack points, but she was sure her trap card would protect her from Asaju's attacks.

"I summon 'Souzenma' in attack mode." A dark blue creature that had the shape of a snowman and was covered in protruding gloved arms and yellow symbols appeared. It only possessed twelve hundred attack points.

Ammonia narrowed her eyes. _He must be planning something_, she thought. "I cast 'Mystical Space Typhoon'." He turned his emotionless eyes to hers. "I'll destroy your trap card, and leave your spell behind." Ammonia's eyes widened as the hurricane with lightning crackling across it destroyed her face-down trap card.

"How did you know that was my trap card?" Asaju stared.

"I already told you, I can read people. I saw you plan out your strategy with the cards you have in your hand just by studying the minute emotions on your face."

_What?_ Ammonia thought to herself. _That can't be possible_.

"Some would consider it an unfair advantage. Now 'Souzenma' will attack your monster."

"Fine, my witch has more attack points anyway!" Ammonia stared as the blue monster started spinning and its arms outstretched.

She gasped when the spinning monster collided with her witch and she saw it scream and explode from the impact.

"My bad. I forgot to mention that as long as 'Souzenma' is the attacking monster it will automatically destroy any other attack position monster it battles with."

Asaju's life points reduced until they were on three thousand and seven hundred. He then placed two cards face-down. "Your move."

Ammonia drew a card from her deck, and she felt far from finished.

Her face-down card was useless without her favourite card, Ammonia felt that there was still a chance that her witch would return so she didn't try to discard it.

"I summon 'Enchanted Pincher' and attack!" Ammonia's purple clawed machine monster easily sliced through Asaju's monster.

She smiled when she realised none of his face-down cards could help him. Ammonia's monster had eighteen hundred attack points, reducing Asaju's life points to a lower three thousand and two hundred. Even through the loss of his monster the uniformed boy betrayed no emotion.

"Maybe you can come up with a better move this time." She teased. Asaju's hand flashed to his deck and then past his face. He looked at the card from the corner of his eye and then added it to his hand.

"I reveal my face-down card." A trap card with a picture of a ghastly yellow spirit engulfing a monster, faced upwards. "In exchange for seven hundred life points 'Unearth Sigil' will bring back a monster that was destroyed last turn and increase its attack points by one thousand." Ammonia cursed to herself as the blue monster returned on two thousand and two hundred.

"I now summon 'Akamitsukai' in attack mode." An angel-like monster in red armour appeared with a heroic roar. "'Akamitsukai' gains five hundred attack points for every special summoned monster on the field. Haven't you realised that I've been three steps ahead of you this entire time?"

The warrior creature glared down at Ammonia and her monster on two thousand attack points.

"Destroy her monster, 'Akamitsukai'." Asaju said with a lazy wave of his hand. Ammonia shielded herself from the explosion and her monster's cries filled the room. "'Souzenma' attack her life points directly!" After the attack Ammonia was left with only sixteen hundred life points while Asaju had two thousand and five hundred. She was wishing she had her 'Celestial Surge' card right now.

…

"I summon Chaos Reaper in attack mode!" Samual recognised the familiar image of the tall dark masked figure carrying the scythe. It only had sixteen hundred attack points but Samual knew not to underestimate any monster.

Kouzan continued, "I'll make short work of your Gladiator. First I think I'll give you another taste of that pain you were so eager for when you challenged me!" He played another card into his spell and trap card zone. "I cast 'Ookazi' and inflict another eight hundred points of damage to your life points!"

Samual tensed himself and was more prepared this time, even though the pain was greater. He gritted his teeth as the painful electricity coursed through his body. As much as he tried to hide his pain from his opponent, Kouzan noticed and laughed even louder.

Samual's life points were reduced to two thousand and seven hundred.

"I'll make sure your pain will increase each turn until you beg me to finish you! For now I will play one card face-down and end my turn." He smiled smugly.

Samual looked up, a wicked grin on his face too. Kouzan frowned. Samual drew a card.

"I cast 'Resurgence Gate'! Because the life point damage I received last turn was from a card effect you also lose eight hundred life points."

"What?" Kouzan gasped in pain as the electricity worked its way through him as well.

"Had enough yet?" Samual asked. All he received was more dark chuckles from his opponent.

"You idiot!" He yelled with a chorus of manic laughter. "If I didn't want to feel pain I would have made it that only your duel disk hurts you when you lose life points!

"Who doesn't enjoy a bit of suffering now and again? All your doing is making this more fun for me! Finally a prey that can hurt me just as much as I can hurt it! My victory will be all the more glorious when I watch you become overwhelmed by the pain of your defeat! Hahaha!"

Samual took an involuntary step back as he realised the depth of his opponent's madness. He wanted to give Samual pain, but at the same time he wanted to duel someone who could make _himself_ feel pain. This freak only wanted a partner in his sick game, and Samual had volunteered.

"Now I'll show you why you should fear the Akutenshi!"

**You don't have to leave a review if you don't want to... lol jks it's your legal obligation as the reader.**


	6. The Flaming Haired Boy

**Originally I intended Samual and Ammonia's first duels to take only two chapters and be at the same time. Oh well...**

"Alright, it's still my move." Samual was sure that Kouzan's face-down card was a trap. Why else did he play his weak monster in attack mode? He couldn't risk if it was just a bluff, however, and since he had another monster in his hand anyway with strong defence points he set it face-down on the field.

"I set one card face-down in my Spell and Trap zone, 'Gladiator Warrior' attack his monster!" The warrior charged with its large sword and leapt to swing it at the motionless cloaked figure until-

"Reveal trap card 'Dark Thorns'! Now your monster will be devoured-" the large holographic trap card on the field raised itself so Samual could see, and then black vines snaked in front of 'Gladiator Warrior' and whipped it back to Samual's side of the field where it exploded on impact.

"-and half of your monsters attack points will be taken from your life points! Should have summoned another monster in attack mode, say goodbye to one thousand and fifty life points!" The vines sprang up and reached Samual, he couldn't help his scream and fell to his knees as the electricity passed through his body.

He heard his life point counter go down and looked to see he only had sixteen hundred and fifty life points.

"Stay on your knees worm! You weren't as much of a challenge as I thought you'd be. The weak will be crushed by the strong, that is the way of the Akutenshi. Hahaha!"

"Are you done?" Samual asked aggravatingly. Kouzan stopped laughing.

"Usually whenever one of these pathetic kids lost over a thousand life points the pain was so great that it brought them to tears."

"Well I'm no stranger to pain. I have an older sister after all, and she's pure evil." Samual got back onto his feet.

"No stranger to pain? You're stronger than you look, kid. I suppose we can both relate to that. Either way, it's my turn and I'm sorry to say it's the end for you now."

Kouzan smirked and drew a card from his deck.

"Now I cast 'Inferno Cataclysm'! Both of us will lose one thousand life points, meaning we can share the pain together!"

Samual gasped and Kouzan gritted his teeth but maintained his smile. His life points were decreased to seventeen hundred while Samual's were only in the hundreds.

"When 'Chaos Reaper' attacks a defence position monster his effect lets him attack again! So your monster can't protect your life points, it's over. Now you can experience the ultimate pain of your defeat!"

'Chaos Reaper' swung his scythe at Samual's face-down card. Fortunately the monster 'Shielded Tank' had a defence of two thousand. The attack rebounded, Chaos Reaper wasn't destroyed but Kouzan's life points decreased to thirteen hundred.

"You don't think I'm finished do you? Now I cast 'Shield and Sword' that will make each of our monsters attack and defence points swap. My monster may only be on fourteen hundred now, but your monster only has five hundred attack points! Since my monster wasn't destroyed its effect lets it attack again! HAHAHA! CHAOS REAPER KILL HIM NOW!"

The savage cloaked figure leapt into the air and brought down its scythe toward Samual's tank monster. Samual outstretched his arm.

"Trap card. 'Switch Spell' will change the battle position of one monster on the field."

"So that's your plan? You're going to switch my monster to defence mode to stop its attack? How pitiful." Kouzan started laughing.

"I'm switching my monster to attack position!" Kouzan's laugh was cut short and Samual continued. "Thanks to your 'Shield and Sword' card it has two thousand attack points, enough to destroy your favourite monster!" The crowd gasped and Kouzan's eyes widened.

Samual's tank monster raised itself and aimed its cannon at Kouzan's falling monster.

"Nooo! Stop!"

"Too late." The monster fired and Chaos Reaper was destroyed. To add to his humiliation, Kouzan had to suffer through the loss of another six hundred life points. Now his life points were even lower than Samual's.

"Are you done yet?" Samual taunted. "Because it's still not even my turn." Members of the crowd started cheering and Kouzan became enraged.

"I set two cards face-down and end my turn!" _This will work_, Kouzan thought to himself. _My first trap card, 'Recovery Plan' will at the cost of half my life points mimic the effect of a trap card in my graveyard._

_Then I'll choose 'Dark Thorns' which will inflict one thousand damage to his life points when he attacks and I'll win the duel! Even if he plays a card that would destroy a face-down card my second trap card 'Bogey Trap' will destroy itself and the cards effect. It's perfect. I've won!_

Kouzan smiled wickedly but then he faltered when he saw his opponent smiling back.

"What are you so smug about?"

"Why shouldn't I be smug, I'm about to win this duel."

"That's what you think! Just hurry up with your turn already. I'll put you back in your place! That pretty face of yours is about to get messed up!"

"You can't think being creepy and making up stuff like that will help you win?"

"I wasn't making anything up." Kouzan smiled again. "Now go already!"

Samual drew a card. _His last card_,Kouzan thought smugly.

"I cast 'Magical Stone Excavation'! I discard one card to bring back a spell card from my graveyard back to my hand. Can you guess which one?" Samual reached into his graveyard slot and pulled out 'Resurgence Gate'.

"What are doing?" Kouzan said shocked.

"Don't tell me I have to remind you what this card does again, Ko?" Samual mocked. "Since you used 'Inferno Cataclysm' last turn to inflict damage to my life points from a card effect, now you lose one thousand life points! I told you I was about to win this duel!"

"This can't be!" Samual's spell blasted Kouzan and his life points reached zero. He screamed and was sent flying backwards, landing painfully onto his back. The crowd cheered. _I knew they would end up on my side._ Samual thought happily.

He approached the fallen Akutenshi who tried to get up. He was mortified and sore all over. Samual reached out his hand. Kouzan was shocked.

"I don't need your help!" He spat. Samual frowned.

"Someone like you doesn't deserve any help right now," he answered, "I just want your rarest card."

Kouzan sneered. He was a very dishonest person, but the fact that this boy actually managed to defeat him impressed Kouzan. He held out his 'Chaos Reaper' to the fiery haired boy. Samual took the card and flashed another smile before turning and leaving.

The crowd dissipated but Kouzan didn't look away from where the boy had vanished. He also didn't get up. _If that boy is going to be a contender in this new tournament then maybe it would be a good idea to stick around a bit more._ He hoped he wouldn't be getting obsessive over this new duellist, the last person who had defeated him was Asaju, and afterwards he hadn't stopped thinking of him for days.

**How will Ammonia do in her battle against the boy who even defeated Kouzan? Tune in next time and leave a review!**


	7. The Ocean Eyed Girl

**The word count is gradually increasing each chapter O.o**

Ammonia scowled and drew her next card.

"Haven't you yet realised that it's pointless?" Ammonia didn't respond. "How can you have such faith in yourself?" Asaju insisted in his expressionless voice.

"It's simple." Ammonia answered. "I can win battles with my own skill, I don't need to deceive people in order to win like you do."

Asaju said nothing for a while.

"Yes, deceiving. It's something I've always been good at, ever since I was a child..." He said in a dream-like voice. "Do you know why I chose a library as a setting for this game?" Ammonia studied the cards in her hand silently while her opponent spoke. "I used to come here all the time when I was young and read. It was the only thing I knew about myself that wasn't fake."

Ammonia looked up. Before she had met her friends she used to spend all of her time reading as well. She didn't want him to know she was thinking that.

"As if I'd care," she said with a cruel smirk, "about your life." Asaju didn't say anything. "I set one card face-down and set one monster on the field. That ends my turn."

"That's all?" he asked with a quiet laugh, drawing his next card. "I cast 'Sonic Barrier'. Each time a monster is special summoned by a player the opposing player will lose three hundred life points.

"Now I summon 'Larzo Statue' in defence mode." A green, worm creature appeared on a stone pedestal with no eyes but huge humanoid yellow teeth, that twisted into a hungry smile. "In my main phase I can discard a card from my hand and send 'Larzo Statue' to the graveyard."

Asaju discarded one card from his hand and his monster hissed and then vanished. "Afterwards I can then return one monster from my graveyard to the field." Ammonia frowned as the green creature returned in attack position. "Now since it was special summoned not only do you lose three hundred life points but 'Akamitsukai' now has twenty-five hundred attack points."

The three monsters glared down at Ammonia as she hid behind her face-down monster. Her life points were only on thirteen hundred. "Even against certain defeat those cold blue eyes never lose their focus." He said admirably. "Now, 'Souzenma' attack her face-down monster."

Ammonia's 'Witch's Apprentice' card was easily wiped out with only five hundred defence points. "'Akamitsukai' attack her directly!" The winged warrior flew above and then soared towards Ammonia with sword in hand.

There was a collision but then Asaju had to shield his eyes from the bright white light that appeared in front of Ammonia, protecting her. "What-?" As the light died down the image of a white, glowing kuriboh appeared.

"By discarding 'White Kuriboh' from my hand to the graveyard I can prevent damage to my life points this turn." Ammonia informed him.

"You may have protected yourself for now but I assure you, you will lose on your next turn."

Ammonia drew a card from her deck and smiled as the ghostly kuriboh dissipated.

"I'd have to disagree with you there, this time it's you who will lose. Reveal trap card: 'Diamond Burial'!" Ammonia's card raised itself for Asaju to see.

"This card will remain on the field and destroy all special summoned monsters now, and any other special summoned monsters on the end phase of the turn they were summoned! That means not only are 'Souzenma' and 'Larzo Statue' sent to the graveyard but your fairy warrior now only has fifteen hundred attack points!"

Two of Asaju's monsters started to glow with a purple light before they exploded, reducing the attack of his only remaining attack position monster. Suddenly Asaju's eyes widened in fear, his face paled and his legs started quivering.

"N-no," He stuttered in fear. "If I l-lose again, they'll-" He put his face in his hands and went quiet.

Ammonia was so shocked that she stopped. There was a pause and then her opponent looked up, his face blank. "How stupid can you be to actually fall for that again?"

Ammonia scowled but was still a bit put off by what she'd just seen. "I already told you," Asaju continued, "I've always been good at acting and deceiving people. Even in school, no one knew the real me. I use to experiment with personalities. My 'masks', if you will. I used different ones for different people and so not even my parents knew the real me." Then he said more quietly. "I became so good at lying that, not even _I_ know the real me.

"Which of my 'masks' were real? If I looked could I find elements of truth in some of them? Fragments of my inner being? Habits, character, feelings. All of these were fake, and different for each mask I wore. In the end, all I was left with... was nothing."

Ammonia stared at him with shock. "I am a master of lies. You can not beat me. I see through every move you make." Ammonia was quiet for a moment longer but then she smiled. Asaju tilted his head but made no other expression as he studied her face.

"Not this one. You haven't seen this move." Ammonia slid a card into her spell and trap zone. "I cast 'Monster Reborn' to bring back 'Witch of Black Magic'!" The pink-haired witch appeared back on the field. Asaju's life points decreased to two thousand and two hundred.

"So what?" Asaju spoke. "She'll be gone at the end of this turn because of your own trap card. How pointless."

"I'm not done yet. I reveal my other face-down card 'Broomstick'." The equip spell attached itself to Ammonia's monster and it started flying.

"Now my witch has another three hundred attack points!"

"That's still not that much, and it seems like you've already forgotten about my other face-down card."

"I'm not going to attack." Ammonia stated. "I don't have to, because increasing my monster's attack isn't all my spell card does. It says that whenever my witch is destroyed by a card effect and sent to the graveyard it is immediately returned to the field along with this card."

Asaju narrowed his eyes. Ammonia grinned. "You're smart, aren't you? Ever heard of the term 'chain link' before?" Asaju's eyes suddenly widened as he studied the field. "It's used to describe a continuous chain of effects in a Yu-Gi-Oh! game!

"When I end my turn, my trap card 'Diamond Burial' will destroy my 'Witch of Black Magic'. Then the equip spell 'Broomstick' will bring it back. Your spell card 'Sonic Barrier' will inflict three hundred points of damage to your life points.

"Considering it's still my turn, 'Diamond Burial will destroy my witch again because it's still the end phase of my turn. 'Broomstick' will bring it back, 'Sonic Barrier' will inflict more damage to you and the process will continue to repeat before your turn can even start, until your life points are zero!"

Asaju watched as exactly what Ammonia said happened. Her monster glowed with purple light and exploded, returned, his life points decreased, and then the whole process started again. Eventually Asaju's duel disk beeped loudly when it reached zero.

The small red button flashed and Asaju knew that the building had unlocked itself. Asaju stared at his opponent. Ammonia tensed as he walked towards her until he was standing directly in front of her.

She was still taller than he was so she stood strong as he stared at her.

"Well done," he raised his hand and inside it was his 'Larzo Statue', "it's not strong but I guarantee you it's the rarest card I possess." Ammonia blinked and then took his card. "Now get out." He said politely.

Ammonia turned and, grinning to herself, she left the defeated Akutenshi. Asaju smiled when he was alone, it was a legitimate smile. He had honestly felt surprise. _Felt_ it. He couldn't remember the last time he felt something, and now he was smiling.

Even though he had lost for the first time in years, she had given him more than she could ever understand. _Oh yes_, Asaju thought to himself. _This tournament will be very interesting_.

**Zac's duel is next. Want to see a magic trick? What's that behi****nd your ear? A review!**


	8. Duel in the Park!

**Either send me a review or instant message requesting which card in my story you'd like me to make this story's image and I will upload it. At most I will change the picture once per chapter.**

Zac continued to walk away from the square, still filled with determination. He clutched his deck in his duel disk as he walked, studying the people around him. There had been more duellists back where he had started and Zac was starting to get worried that he'd have to turn around.

As he paced along the street he saw a park up ahead. _What a perfect place for duelling!_ Zac thought. _There must be heaps of kids over there._ He hurried towards the grassy park that was surrounded in tall trees.

He ran eagerly but then stopped at the edge of the footpath once he had reached it. It was empty. Zac hesitated, now that he looked this whole street was now empty, and was starting to give him the creeps.

"Are you a duellist, or what?" A harsh voice called from above, making Zac jump so bad he almost fell over. Looking up he saw a white haired boy sitting lazily on a branch above himself on the nearest tree. His back was on the trunk and his legs pressed against the branch, he stared down at the frightened brown haired boy.

The boy in the tree had a duel disk and deck, so Zac knew that he played. Not getting an answer the boy looked around with his small black eyes and saw the duel disk stuck to Zac's arm. "So you are." Now that Zac thought about it he had no idea how that boy had managed to-

Suddenly he gripped the branch and flipped forward landing in a crouch in front of Zac. This boy was strong. He stood up slowly.

"Were you just waiting here this whole time?" Zac asked nervously. "Aren't there any other duellists in this park?"

"They were but I defeated them." The boy said dismissively as he reached up and cracked his neck. Zac cringed from the painful noise but the boy didn't seem to mind. Chris had always taught Zac to use manners so...

"My name's Zac, how do you-"

"I'm Carson. Are we going to duel or what?" Zac's face twitched awkwardly.

"I guess, if you want to."

"What do you think I've been waiting for this whole time?" He activated his duel disk and Zac did the same.

After they drew their hands their life point counters beeped when they reached four thousand. Carson's eyes studied the smaller boy in front of him carefully. They were dark, but not like Zac's warm brown eyes, they were coal black. His hair seemed to shine like silver in the overhead sun.

"You can go first." He said to Zac. Zac realised he had been staring and quickly looked down to study the cards in his hand.

"I summon 'Jolly the Christmas Beetle' in attack mode!" The giant golden insect appeared in front of Zac, it had large spikes protruding from its wings. "That ends my turn."

Carson could see from the holographic square that appeared in front of the monster that it only had fifteen hundred attack points. _ Another rookie?_ He smirked and drew a card from his deck.

"I summon 'Magma Dragon' in attack mode." A fiery armoured dragon appeared in a swirl of what appeared to be lava. It looked far more fearsome than Zac's monster but only had an extra one hundred attack points.

"Destroy his insect!" The dragon roared and opened its mouth to spew bouts of lava all over Zac's creature that twitched as it melted away into nothing. Zac heard his life point counter reduce to three thousand and nine hundred. Carson set one card face-down.

"If that's all you can do, I'm not impressed." He mocked. Zac grinned.

"I was just testing your strength to see what you've got. I'm the one that's disappointed."

"Then how about you put your money where your mouth is, it's your move." Zac drew a card from his deck.

"I summon 'Siamese Twins' in defence mode!" What appeared to be a young child in a monk outfit wearing a straw hat and sitting in the lotus position, with an exact replica of itself balancing on top of its head appeared. "I put one card face-down and end my turn."

Carson frowned. Zac's monster only had one thousand defence points. Was he trying to lure him into a trap? If it came down to it, Carson still had his own face-down card to use. Zac watched as his opponent drew another card from his deck.

"I summon 'Storm Beast Dragon'!" A black dragon appeared next to Carson's first dragon and Zac saw that it had seventeen hundred attack points. "'Magma Dragon' destroy 'Siamese Twins'!" Zac watched as another one of his monsters melted away.

"'Storm Beast Dragon' attack his life points!" The fearsome dragon roared and breathed yellow fire that passed through Zac, reducing his life points to two thousand and two hundred. "I've heard a lot of talk from you kid, but I've yet to see something impressive."

Zac looked up with a smile on his face.

"You will." He assured him and drew a card from his deck. _Awesome! This is just what I needed_. "I summon 'Mini Magician' in attack mode!" A kid version of the rare card 'Dark Magician' appeared on the field in front of Zac.

"Your monster only has fifteen hundred attack points. I'm starting to think you're just purposely wasting my time." Zac raised his arm.

"Just watch! Reveal face-down: 'Selective Elimination'!" A trap with the picture of three red aliens standing next to each other appeared. "This card will guarantee my victory!"

**For those wondering how I make my cards I use Yugioh Card Maker! :) Are view glad to see me?**


	9. Dragon Duellist

**Thank you to Ciloron for your reviews. At least one person out of the seventy-something people who have viewed my story bothered to leave a review.**

"I didn't want to use this card straight away because I needed to see if you were that kind of duellist. It turns out you are!" Carson frowned. "You're the type of duellist who uses theme cards! I'd bet anything that your deck is full of dragons isn't it?"

"Yeah so?" Zac grinned.

"_So_, by activating 'Selective Elimination' I can pay one thousand of my life points and select one monster type. As long as my trap card is on the field all monsters of that type will lose four hundred attack and defence points!"

Zac's life points reduced to twelve hundred and Carson's monsters decreased as well. "Now my monster has enough attack points to attack you! 'Mini Magician' use dark magic attack to wipe out 'Storm Beast Dragon'!" The young kid magician spun its green staff in its hand and then fired a blast of dark magic incinerating the opposing monster.

Carson couldn't help smiling. _Impressive_. His life points reduced to three thousand and eight hundred.

"So what?" He growled. "My life points are more than triple yours! You just helped me defeat you!"

"Then go ahead, it's your turn."

Carson drew a card from his deck. Even though his monsters were weakened he had trust his deck. He knew there were several cards that would help him out of this situation, he just needed to be patient.

"I switch 'Magma Dragon' to defence mode and set another monster face-down. That ends my turn." Zac smiled. _I've got him!_ He drew a card from his deck and saw it was 'Blunder'. He added it to his hand.

"I summon 'Vorian Soldier' in attack mode!" His warrior monster appeared on nineteen hundred because of its effect. 'Magma Dragon' only had eleven hundred defence points but Zac had no idea how strong the set card was.

"'Mini Magician' dark magic attack on 'Magma Dragon'!" Carson's creature whined and exploded when it was hit by the sphere of black and purple lightning. "'Vorian Soldier' attack his face-down monster!"

A green dragon appeared with sixteen hundred defence points and then vanished. Zac gave a sigh of relief. That monster would have been tough had it not been for his trap card affecting the field. "Your move." Next turn Zac was sure he'd be able to attack him directly.

Carson drew another card from his deck and smiled at it.

"I reveal my face-down card: 'Jewel Transcendence'." It was a spell card with the picture of a small dragon statue surrounded in mist. "This card lets me draw three cards from my deck and special summon all dragon cards I pick up onto the field."

Zac looked worried but then tried to regain his composure. His friends had told him that he would be able to defeat his opponent. That he was stronger than he knew. He had to believe in them and in himself. He would defeat this opponent!

Carson drew three cards and added one to his hand, he then summoned 'Baby Dragon' and 'Steel Armour Dragon' in attack mode. Zac saw that they only had eight hundred and fourteen hundred attack points so he smiled.

"Don't look so happy," Carson told him, "I still haven't normal summoned this turn." Zac's eyes widened as the two dragons disappeared and a more larger and powerful dragon appeared onto the field.

"It can't be-" Zac stuttered.

"I see you've seen this monster before." Carson smiled victoriously. "Say 'hello' to my 'Legendary Sapphire Dragon'." The monster was the same one Zac had seen on the cover of that booster pack he had bought days ago.

It was suppose to be extremely rare. The white dragon glared down at him but Zac noticed it only had nineteen hundred attack points.

"Your dragon might be stronger than the others you've played but it's still decreased because of 'Selective Elimination'!"

Carson smiled again.

"Then I'll just have to increase it." He said plainly. "I use 'Dragon Armour' to increase my monster's attack to twenty-four hundred! Attack his 'Mini Magician'!" Zac watched in horror as the huge dragon, now covered in grey armour, released a white beam of light that destroyed his wizard and left him temporarily deafened.

Without another Spellcaster on the field 'Vorian Soldier' was decreased to sixteen hundred attack points. Zac stared wide-eyed and with his mouth open at the overwhelming monster as his life points decreased to only three hundred.

"Your turn," Carson teased, "unless you'd like to give up?"

"I can't quit!" Zac yelled defiantly. "I made a promise that I wouldn't lose! I can't let down those who believe in me!"

"Whatever you say." Carson replied, but Zac could see he was fighting a smile on his lips.

_Even with my trap card his monster is too powerful!_ Zac thought to himself. He drew a card from his deck and stared at it. _At least this will allow me to buy some time until I figure out what I need to do._

"I sacrifice my 'Vorian Soldier' and summon 'Great Wall' in defence mode!" Zac's monster rose from the ground as a shield protecting him on twenty-five hundred defence points. "Your move."

"It doesn't matter how strong your defences are, my deck will defeat your monster and then destroy you."

Carson drew a new card from his deck and his lip twitched upwards ever so slightly. "I'll do it with this card." Zac paled. _What card did he just draw?_

**How will Zac get out of this problem? Don't be shy, review?**


	10. Battle Gets Rough

**I know it's been a while, but I have an excuse! I just finished the trial Year 12 exams and the HSC (final exams) is approaching. Two months and I'm officially done with school, I can't wait!**

"I activate the field spell card, 'Fantasy Castle'!" Zac watched as the field in front of Carson was transformed, and a large white castle on a mountain was projected in front of him. _A field magic card will affect every monster on the field_, Zac thought worriedly.

Carson could read his expression. "I can tell you're afraid, you should be. This duel is over. My field spell will increase the attack and defence points of all 'dragon' type monsters by three hundred." Zac's eyes widened.

"But then that would mean your Sapphire Dragon is on twenty-seven hundred!" Carson smirked and ran one of his hands through his silver hair.

"If only you were that lucky," he said, "when 'Fantasy Castle' enters the field all other effect cards that would specifically target dragons are destroyed.

"So I can finally say goodbye to your annoying trap card." Zac watched with growing fear as his 'Selective Elimination' card was wiped from the field. "That means my monster is now on thirty-one hundred attack points!" Another roar from the pale blue dragon caused Zac to take a step back.

"Destroy 'Great Wall'!" Carson's attack devastated Zac's shield. Now there was nothing separating him from his opponent's monster. "Next turn is yours, if you can do anything. When it's my move again, all I need is to summon another monster, and with only three hundred life points one attack is all I'll need."

Zac reached for his deck with a shaky hand. He doubted that he would draw anything that could save him now; what was the point? He almost thought of quitting but then the images of his friends appeared in his mind.

_I'm sure you'll do fine._

_You're stronger than you know._

Zac's hand flashed to his deck and then to his hand. He smiled.

"I cast the spell 'Rain of Mercy'! Now we both gain one thousand life points!" Carson gave a shrug and _hmph_ed.

"The difference in our life points is still the same. You will definitely lose this duel."

Zac looked through his hand. _I have thirteen hundred life points now, but he has four thousand and eight hundred!_ Zac glared up at his confident opponent. _I won't give up._

"I set one monster on the field and end my turn."

"Is that really all you can do?" Zac grimaced. "Well then I set one card face down and summon 'Voracious Lizard'!" A horrible green lizard creature appeared on the field and hissed at Zac.

"I thought all your cards were dragon types?" He asked confused.

"As if I would be stupid enough to reveal all the secrets of my deck to my own opponent. It's true 'Voracious Lizard' isn't one of my more powerful dragon-type monsters, but with thirteen hundred attack points he has just enough to end this duel." Carson grinned in wicked anticipation.

_Not only that_, he thought to himself, _but no matter what the effect of your face-down monster, 'Voracious Lizard' will automatically become the target of any opponent's effect that targets a dragon, guaranteeing the safety of my 'Legendary Sapphire Dragon'._

"Now I'll attack your face-down monster with 'Legendary Sapphire Dragon'!" The mighty beast roared at the silver haired teen's command and lurched backward, a massive ball of energy forming in its mouth. It then fired and there was blinding light. As it cleared what appeared to be a large pink leaf with eyes and a mouth was on the field in front of Zac.

Carson's eyes widened but he didn't say anything.

"When 'Blunder' is sent from the field to the graveyard the battle phase is over, I'm safe for one more turn!"

"That's what you think!" Carson raised his arm but nothing happened.

"None of your effects will work either," Zac explained, pointing to Carson's face-down card. "This effect is unstoppable." Carson glared.

"You've managed to save yourself for another turn, but what can you really do?" He asked, getting impatient that his victory kept getting delayed.

"It'll make all the difference, Carson." Zac said and drew a card from his deck since his opponent couldn't do anything.

"I cast the spell card 'Cannon Barrage'! It would usually cost me all my monsters, but since I haven't summoned any yet I can cast it for free. It allows me to inflict the total of half of your monster's attack points as damage to your life points!"

A holographic red cannon comically fired at Carson and temporarily covered him in smoke. His life point counter reduced to twenty-six hundred and when the haze cleared he looked furious. He wiped a strand of his pale hair from out of his face. _I can't let this kid get to me, but I did just loose almost half my life points from that effect!_

"Now I summon 'Great Sword Bearer' in attack mode!" A warrior clad in blue armour and wielding a large metal sword appeared on eighteen hundred attack points. "Destroy 'Voracious Lizard'!" The warrior charged and slashed at the lizard that hissed before fading away.

Carson's life points decreased further until he was left with only twenty-one hundred. "Since there's a monster on the field with attack points greater than itself, 'Great Sword Bearer' switches to defence mode at the end of the turn." The warrior changed into a defensive stance. "Your move."

Carson looked down and smiled. His fringe covered his eyes so Zac couldn't be sure of his expression.

"You... you're the strongest opponent I've fought so far since I joined this tournament." He stated. His hand flashed to his deck and his head tilted toward the card he just drew. "Hurry up and defeat me, if you can. It's my move, anyway." He looked up and Zac noticed his eyes were filled with a new kind of determination and excitement.

**This duel will conclude next chapter. If you want it to be released sooner, I suggest you leave a review XD**


	11. Last Attack

**I'm baaaccckkk. Despite the fact people don't seem to like reviewing to my story, I still like writing it so I put this here.**

"I set one card face down." The card Carson had just picked up he set face-down beside his other hidden card. "'Legendary Sapphire Dragon' eradicate his knight from existence!" Once again Zac watched as another one of his monsters was wiped out before his eyes.

He shielded his eyes with his arm and when the bright light faded away his 'Great Sword Bearer' was no where to be seen. "Let's see if you can survive another round." The huge dragon roared above the confident teen.

He stood with his feet apart and his arms crossed, smirking at his apparent victory. _I'm in a lot of trouble right now_. Zac thought to himself. _I had no cards face-down, so it was only luck that I had survived the last round_.

_Soon he'll draw a card that will have an effect strong enough to enable him to win the game_. Zac drew a card from his deck and smiled. _This card will definitely turn this game to my favour_.

"I set one monster in face-down defence mode, and-"

He slipped one card into his duel disk slot. "one card face-down."

Carson closed his eyes and dipped his head, letting out a sigh.

"It seems that those kind of moves are a norm for you. Oh well, I'll see what trick you have left up your sleeve."

He drew a card from his deck and Zac didn't miss the peculiar look on his opponent's face. "I summon 'Stubborn Hatchling' in defence mode." Zac saw a small red dragon, wearing its shell like clothing sit on a holographic rendition of its card.

It only had five hundred attack points and seven hundred defence points. From where he was it didn't seem like the monster had an effect of any kind either. Zac wondered what point such a monster would have in this situation and why Carson would have played it.

Carson viewed his opponent from over the cards in his hand. He had managed to draw it. _That_ card. The one which he used only in the most dire of situations. In order to play it, he would need that additional monster on the field.

_I probably won't be forced to use my speciality, but this kid has already surprised me so far. So I'll keep the option open, just in case_.

"All right! This will most likely be my final attack, so we'll see if whatever your hiding will be enough."

Zac tensed. Carson stared at him silently for a moment. He raised his chin. "Now my legendary dragon, attack him!"

"'Millennium Edifice'!" Zac yelled loudly.

The image of a temple appeared. _What kind of a monster is that?_ Carson paled. "My effect monster will end this game!" The lights vanished and the white stone temple disappeared. Zac stared in shock and then looked around the field.

One of Carson's face down cards had flipped itself face-up.

"It's a shame isn't it. My trap card destroys monsters with flip effects. It turned out your monster failed you. If it were a normal monster my turn would be over and you'd have another chance.

"The fact your monster had a flip effect became your downfall. My dragon can now attack again. I suppose in the end, that card really did end this game." A bead of sweat ran down Zac's face. Smiling wickedly, Carson waved his hand and his dragon charged another energy beam from its mouth.

_I suppose this is the limit of the kid's power in the end_.

"Reveal face down card!" Zac's face-down quick-play spell card faced his opponent. "If you think it was my mistake I lost my monster then you were wrong!

"I knew you had a card which effected flip effect monsters for a while now. It's the same card you tried to use to stop 'Blunder' but you couldn't use it at that time. I'm not so inexperienced that I would miss something as crucial as that!

"By trapping you into destroying my monster, I can use my real trump card for this duel. The card I drew last turn! Activate 'Sticky Fingers'!"

"Impossible." Carson stared as a gooey blue hand attached to a cord protruded quickly from its card.

The hand waved its finger patronisingly at Carson and then reached into Zac's graveyard pulling out a holographic spell card.

"'Sticky Fingers' will replicate a spell or trap card from the graveyard! Does it look familiar?" The blue hand and cord became goo and then changed shape until it looked like the red cannon from before.

After it mimicked its shape it faded red. "'Cannon Barrage' will enable me to wipe out the rest of your life points by reflecting your attack! It's over!" Zac smiled amazedly. _I did it, I only wish you guys could see me! I've beaten him!_

"Too much" Carson whispered. The red cannon changed shape as it prepared for its comical fire. Zac tensed as he watched his now quiet opponent in the last few moments before his defeat. His head was down, and then he slowly raised his neck to stare at Zac. "Hassle".

His second face-down card revealed itself. "'Dragon Soul' allows me to discard and/or destroy dragons and inflict half of their original attack to your life points." He said lazily. "You put on a good show, but it's time for the curtains to close. This is the finale."

Zac stared in horror as what looked like a soul emerged from the 'Legendary Sapphire Dragon' before it exploded and then the phantom dragon rocketed towards himself.

"I don't understand! That card is a magic card! You could have used it at any time! Why did you only use it at the very end?"

"Isn't it obvious?" He said with a casual smile. "I was playing with you this entire time. Also, I wanted to crush your hopes completely. I wanted you to understand that despite all of your efforts it was pointless. I wanted to deliver to you the ultimate defeat."

The ghost dragon dived straight through Zac and he heard his life point counter beep loudly when it reached zero. Zac stared at where the dragon had dived from above him. Then he fell to his knees and sagged forward quietly in defeat.

"All great duellists must know defeat. Now you have yours." Carson turned away. _I guess I didn't need to rely on _that_ card after all_. He put his hands in his pockets and started walking. Leaving his defeated opponent alone with his misery.

**Was it what you expected? I certainly hope not, as an author I'm meant to surprise and challenge my audience. Review?**


	12. Ultimate Defeat

**A new chapter! I am yet to give up on this story, even if no one is reviewing! If no one replies I may have to give up though, so if you are legitimately interested in my story and you want more, be sure to leave a review!**

Time passed by as Zac wallowed in his defeat. He had never been a very confident person to begin with. To find out he had done his absolute best, believed in himself as much as he could have, only to be defeated in the end was just too much.

What would his friends think of him? Knowing them they would have undoubtedly won their own battles, regardless of who they were facing. Zac felt wracked with guilt for letting them down but then he frowned.

_No. This is their fault too. They told me I could do it and that I was strong_. Zac clenched his fist and his eyes closed tight. _They were wrong. I don't owe them anything_. With that in mind, Zac stood up slowly and made his own way back home.

He trudged through the evening streets on his own. His mobile phone started ringing. Zac checked the ID and saw it was Samual calling him. He answered the call.

"Zac? Where are you? Why didn't you meet us back at the shops?"

"I'm over it Samual. I'm just not cut out to be a duellist. I'm leaving the tournament." Samual could tell by the sound of Zac's voice that something was very wrong.

"What are you talking about? Where are you now?"

"I'm going home; I just want to be alone for a while. Please don't call me back." Zac hung up before Samual could say anything more. _The thought of continuing on in this game with them is just too much. _

_ I would only drag the two of them down_. Zac loved Yu-Gi-Oh! but he just didn't have the necessary skill that his friends had. Or that Carson had...

Zac's mood became even worse as he thought about the amazingly talented white haired teen he had duelled seemingly only moments before. Zac had been worried that his opponent may have been a step ahead during the whole duel, but it turns out he was ten steps ahead and could have ended that game at any time.

He had only been toying with Zac. _It's because I'm not even good enough for him to have taken me even remotely seriously_. Zac reached his house and it was late evening. He opened the door and meant to travel to his room but Chris was standing in the kitchen.

"I see you've returned." Zac looked down sadly. "Samual called. Told me that he was afraid something bad had happened to you and that you didn't want to talk to anyone. Both of your friends worry about you."

"I want to quit the tournament, Chris." Zac told him quietly. Chris stared in shock and then his face died down to a sad yet passive understanding.

"Is this because you lost a game?"

"I didn't just lose a game! I realised something."

"Like what? That you're not cut out for Yu-Gi-Oh!?" Zac just nodded solemnly. Chris sighed and then his expression hardened.

"You've loved that game since you could barely walk."

"That doesn't mean-"

"You do love it, don't you?" Zac didn't answer, he didn't need to. "If you love the game then that means it's already in your heart."

Zac stared at his guardian questioningly. "If that game is in your heart, then you are already good at it."

"How does that work?"

"Since you love it so much, and it's inside your heart. You will get better. Every time we lose we come back stronger. Our defeats allow us to improve ourselves."

"You don't know what happened. It was my ultimate defeat."

The image of the white-haired teen flashed into Zac's mind again.

_"Isn't it obvious?" He said with a casual smile. "I was playing with you this entire time. Also, I wanted to crush your hopes completely. I wanted you to understand that despite all of your efforts it wa__s pointless. I wanted to deliver to you the ultimate defeat."_

"Ultimate defeat, huh?" Chris closed his eyes and a smile formed on his lips. He opened his eyes. "Even better! That means that the climb back up will be all the more worth it, and when you do reach the top all the way from the bottom everyone can see that it was a much more impressive climb!"

Zac stared amazed. He still wasn't too sure though. About what Chris said, the game and of himself. "It's okay if you still want to mull it over. If by tomorrow you still don't feel like competing in the tournament I won't force you.

"You should still have a serious think about it. I know, and you must also know that Yu-Gi-Oh! has always been your love and dream." Zac walked past him.

"Thanks Chris. I promise I will think about it."

Chris stared in concern as Zac made his way up the stairs and to his room. Zac closed the door behind him and collapsed onto his bed. He lay there for a while. Thinking and uncertain. Coming to no conclusion on his own, Zac decided to go to sleep and hope that the answer would come to him when he awoke.

...

Meanwhile in a dark cavern, a mysterious group of cloaked individuals convened by candlelight.

"Fascinating. Truly fascinating." A dark character concealed in the shadows, hidden by a black hood that concealed their face, addressed the small mass of cloaked Akutenshi.

A pause before continuing. "To think that there were duellists out there who had never been in a tournament before that were strong enough to defeat Kouzan and Asaju." The candlelight flickered and the faces of the two defeated Akutenshi could be seen under their hoods.

Kouzan gritted his teeth together, thinking of his humiliating defeat against the young red-haired boy. Asaju remained emotionless as the leader continued his lecture to the group.

"I founded the Akutenshi to weed out the weakling duellists. It seems that this upcoming tournament may have attracted the individuals with the power I need."

In the dull light a wicked smile could be seen forming on the face of the leading Akutenshi. The leader's hand grasped unconsciously for the golden millennium bracelet attached to their wrist.

"I shall continue to test these skilled individuals. If they can defeat the twins then they are perfect candidates for my plan."

In the darkness two other cloaked figures could be seen smiling in anticipation for their coming battle.

**I sense another duel is on its way. The tournament will be starting soon. What will Zac's decision be? Who are the twins of the Akutenshi? Most importantly, who is this mysterious leader who possesses a millennium item and is plotting behind the shadows? Only time will tell...**


	13. The Demon Twins

**It's been another long gap but since no one reviewed I feel no guilt. My other story was completed so now this one gets my full attention.**

Samual couldn't help the feeling of unease that washed over him as he pondered his upset companion. Zac had moved to his primary school and when Samual first met him he didn't like the small brunette at all. In honesty, no one did.

Everyone knew that Zac was the only child of the wizard Chris. He was a fearful and dark mage who had lived thousands of years and had always been very protective over the timid young boy. For this reason the students avoided him and the teacher's sucked up to him.

He never seemed to enjoy the attention, even though it meant the bullies left him alone. Samual later found out that Zac had insisted to Chris that he no longer be home schooled out of terrible loneliness. He didn't have a friend in the world.

Samual had always been good at sports and popular in a large circle of friends. When he got to know the clumsy new kid was when he realised what an amazingly compassionate person Zac was. Certain events occurred and Samual gave up his fake friends by acknowledging his first true one.

Ammonia went to an expensive and private all-girls grammar school. They met her through one of Samual's delinquent friends who had been dating her at the time. She had seemed cold and angsty but over time warmed up to Zac as well.

The three became inseparable. Ammonia and Samual had always known that Zac had been quick to become disheartened. It was a personality flaw that was slowly being erased due to his new friendships.

The red-haired teen had left his home early to travel to the peeling white two storey house of his closest friend. He spotted the long blonde haired girl walking down the steps away from the front door with her hands in her pockets. Ammonia stopped.

Her blue eyes met with Samual's green ones. She only paused briefly before moving on to meet him.

"How is he?"

"Can't say. Chris said that Zac hadn't been able to make up his mind and needed to take a walk."

"At least that's not a definite 'no'."

"You know how he is. Big decisions always took time for him."

Samual looked down at his shoes sadly. They were battered and worn. He frowned and then looked back up to Ammonia who was watching him quietly.

"We can't do it without him."

"If you like, we can try looking for him… but his mobile is turned off."

"Normally you'd be the one to say he wants to be left alone…"

"Yes." Ammonia narrowed her eyes and Samual noticed a rare sight of weakness softening his friend's expression. "I can tell that this is different. He's been down before but not like this. Something really has shaken him."

"Well what are we standing around here for then?" Samual grinned.

…

A breeze ruffled Zac's untidy brown hair. _It's quite windy at this altitude_, he mused from his vantage point. The view from the top of the Central Store's five-storey car park wasn't particularly dazzling.

From where he stood with his arms resting on the concrete barrier Zac had a wonderful view of the roof of the large mall and cars as they made their way along the strips of road. The tops of the trees looked like tiny shrubs. The people were the size of insects.

It wasn't the height which soothed Zac. The distance still gave him the creeps so he kept his gaze forward. The fresh air was what really helped him think.

_Was I cut out for this tournament? If I get like this after losing, maybe duelling isn't for me?_ Zac didn't notice the two cloaked figures as they opened the door leading from the stairs and began to approach him.

Travelling about in public whilst wearing the Akutenshi robes seemed to worry passers-by. For this reason the leader was accepting of the members wearing the wristbands with the group's insignia instead. The parking lot was abandoned except for a few odd cars here and there.

The top level however was completely empty. Empty except for the brooding boy. For this reason the two twins wore their cloaks with pride. They were black and the hoods were up concealing their faces.

On the back of the robes was a large white skull with two angel wings on either side of it that travelled from the shoulder bones to the waste. The two of them stopped several metres from the young boy and stood next to each other in silence.

Eventually his eyes wandered over and Zac stumbled backwards in shock. Crying out he landed on his butt and stammered.

"W-who are you two?"

"My name is Tsuki." One of the pair lowered her hood. Her eyes were very pale blue, not at all like the bright sky colour of Ammonia's. She had dark mascara and her hair was dyed purple and tied into a ponytail that came out of the right side of her head.

The way she stared at Zac made him feel like he was something unsightly, her expression never changed from its cold sneer. "The Akutenshi seek out the child of Chris. He has been summoned to attend a meeting in accordance with my master's will."

"H-huh?" Zac gasped from where he sat on the ground. "Aku- what? Your master wants to talk to Chris?" There was wild high-pitched cackling coming from the second twin who lowered her hood. Her eyes were the same as was her face, but her expression was completely different.

Although she had also dyed her hair, it was a vivid pink and the ponytail stuck out of the left side of her head. She had two studded ear-rings and a gold hairclip keeping her fringe in place.

"This shit for brains has never heard of the Akutenshi sis! Well he'll hella sure know who we are when we're done beating his pathetic ass and dragging him back to our leader." Zac cringed from the harsh tone of her voice. "The name's Nichi by the way."

Nichi put her hand on her hip and Tsuki crossed her arms. "Together you can just call us the Demon Twins."

**New Akutenshi foes have appeared! Zac stands before the fearful Demon Twins! Review for a sooner update.**


	14. Welcome to Hell!

**Thank you to Dodectron for being the second person to review this story! My hope has been born anew! I would have made this chapter faster but I had a Tafe assignment due.**

"D-demon twins?"

"That's what we just said, fuck face!" Zac recoiled from Nichi's outburst. Tsuki's brow furrowed and she pinched the bridge of her nose, but it wasn't Zac that she spoke to next.

"Sister, I warned you about using that vulgar language in my presence." She seethed to her twin. "Our actions and self-discipline, or in your case _lack_ of self-discipline, reflect on the Akutenshi as a whole."

The pink haired girl scowled.

"You can act as pompous as you want sis, but my power and skill is what's going to represent the true might of the Akutenshi."

The purple haired girl smirked despite herself and kept her eyes on their sitting prey.

"It's not pomposity, but being refined. Power is good, but to accompany a pleasant fragrance the bouquet should be designed to look just as beautiful."

"Enough with your goddamn metaphors! I'm ready to duel him!"

"I-I don't have my duel disk on me."

"As a member of the Eve of Destruction tournament you are required to bring your duel disk with you whenever you're in a public area.

"No matter. You'll just have to use one of ours."

"No!" Zac scrambled to his feet and faced the two strangers. "N-no. The reason I don't have my duel disk is because I've given up on the tournament!"

"Are you trying to say you don't even have your bloody deck?" Zac hunched his shoulders sadly and the loud girl slapped her forehead and let out an aggravated sigh. "What the fuck do we do now?"

"We need him to lure out Chris. There's always force, but the master always desires procedures be followed in a certain way."

"We don't have to tell him though." Nichi whispered wickedly.

Before Tsuki could respond another male voice interrupted.

"You want to duel so badly? Why not try us?" The Demon Twins spun around to see Samual and Ammonia some twenty feet behind them.

They both had scowls on their faces and their duel disks raised. Ammonia's long blonde hair billowed in the breeze from the high altitude and it ruffled Samual's fiery hair as well. Zac's eyes widened when he noticed them.

"How did you guys find me?"

"That's insulting Zac." Samual joked. "We're your friends. After checking the park, beach and even Pinespring Hill we came by here and saw you from below."

"It seems our fight came to us." Nichi cackled wickedly. "Samual Brown and Ammonia Campbell. The Akutenshi are all aware of your names by now."

"I thought it was your creepy gang again." Samual responded and Ammonia added.

"You have the same symbol as Asaju did on his wristband."

"Kouzan too." The red-head beside her agreed.

"Feeling that confident you piece of shit? How about we both duel a tag-team match so we can prove your victories were just luck?"

"As if-"

"You're on!" Samual cut off Ammonia and she stared at him wide-eyed.

"Samual, what are you doing?" He looked over at Zac who was staring at his feet sadly.

"I think he could do with seeing this. We have to bring Zac back, and show him our fighting spirit." Ammonia stared at him in mute shock and Samual stared determined at the menacing duo. The blonde girl smiled to herself and turned the follow his gaze.

"You say the lamest things sometimes… but yeah, I guess you're right." Zac looked up in surprise. "He does need to see this." The four duel disks flashed as they synced with each other.

"Wait! You can't duel them just for me!"

"Not only do we get our hands on your rarest cards when we win, but Zac will be coming with us to see the leader!" Samual's eyes narrowed. Zac floundered for a moment.

"Don't ignore me! I don't want you guys to risk losing your rarest cards for me!"

"Zac," Ammonia responded "shut up."

"It's for your own good." Samual added. Zac's arms dropped to his sides and he watched helplessly as his friends faced off against the menacing pair.

"I'm first bitches!" Nichi screeched before drawing a card from her deck. "I summon 'Grotesque Shogun' in attack mode!" A monster wearing samurai armour appeared with four faces, each one sporting fangs and horns.

It spread its four arms wide as if in challenge and in each hand a katana aimed threateningly at the opponents before it. A holographic sign informed Samual that it had fifteen hundred attack points. Nichi inserted a card in a spell and trap slot of her duel disk.

"I cast 'Satellite Catastrophe'." Samual frowned as the image of the spell appeared and nothing happened.

"Well, what does it do?" All he received was another confident smirk.

"You'll see soon enough. Now move!" He turned to Ammonia.

"Ladies' first." Wasting no more time Ammonia drew a card from her deck.

"I summon 'Violet Enchanter'!" A purple cloaked Spellcaster appeared before her.

She floated with her legs crossed in mid-air while she twirled a strand of her dark purple hair. "Now I cast 'Rapid Shunter'! It's also a continuous spell card and with it I can remove one of my monsters from play each turn."

Nichi gave a short laugh and Tsuki's eyes narrowed as Ammonia's monster flittered back to nothingness. "I set two cards face down and end my turn." Samual looked over at Tsuki while she casually drew a card from her deck and added it to her hand.

_Ammonia just sacrificed her only monster. Oh well, I have to trust that she has a plan_. Another spell card revealed itself to the other three.

"I cast a field spell: 'Genesis Forrest World'!"

Suddenly there was an explosion of rapidly growing trees around the purple haired Akutenshi. Long wooden branches about as thick as buses surged forth and began to randomly sprout leaves. By the time the growth slowed to a stop the four were surrounded by colossal woodland.

Zac nervously walked around until he found a gap through two branches the size of train carriages. He peeked at the duellists inside. _These guys seem really skilled. I hope Samual and Ammonia have what it takes to stop them_.

"This card is my speciality, I'm glad I got to show it off this soon into our duel. Don't get too relaxed yet just because it stopped growing. We have plenty more surprises for you. You have already entered _Hell_."

**Samual and Ammonia join forces to take on the mysterious two, but will they be good enough to defeat the Akutenshi pair? Review?**


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